


Pulse

by inthenetherworld



Category: Beetlejuice - All Media Types, Beetlejuice - Perfect/Brown & King
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Mentions of Death, Oneshot, au but not, barbaras still a ghost, theyre gfs, who cant cope with being a ghost, with a little angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-07
Updated: 2020-08-07
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:02:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,464
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25766407
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inthenetherworld/pseuds/inthenetherworld
Summary: Human!Delia comforts ghost!Barbara when she’s feeling bad about her death.
Relationships: Delia Deetz/Barbara Maitland
Comments: 6
Kudos: 13





	Pulse

**Author's Note:**

> We’re back with this power couple. ENJOY!
> 
> p.s.: This kind of is in the same universe as my other story “Starry Night” but they don’t have to be read together!!

“Barbara!”

“Barbara, come on hun. We should start dinner soon. Barb, what are you do...ing..”

Delia stopped dead in her tracks; temporarily stunned by the partial view of the blonde ghost that could be seen through the sliver of the bathroom door. Delia watched on in silence as Barbara stared intently at her reflection in the mirror. 

She took a single hand and placed it on the apple of her cheek; making a point to run a finger over smile lines and accidental freckles. Shiny eyes followed along the path being made—skin blemishes caught under a fixed gaze. The same hand retracted hesitantly before deciding to land against a pale neck. Translucent skin made forgotten tendons and dead veins more prominent to the naked eye, as they seemed to protrude unnaturally under the eerie phosphorescence of the bathroom lights. 

Barbara gives a disheartening grimace as she presses two fingers against her pulse point—grinding her teeth as the spot lay still under the pads of her fingers. Delia frowns at the sight, leaning further into the door in order to get a closer look. 

With arms tucked into her side and heel-clad toes attempting to stay put on the soft carpet, Delia loses her balance—blowing her cover and swinging the bathroom door nearly off its hinges. Barbara lets out a surprised gasp at the disturbance and whips around to face a stumbling Delia. Attempting to recover smoothly, Delia casually leans against the door, straightening out her dress and flashing a smile in Barbara’s direction.

“What’s up, buttercup? No… too cheesy?” 

Barbara lets out a breathy laugh before frowning again and slowly turning back to stand in front of the mirror. Delia follows her movements—pressing her chest into the blonde’s back and resting her head on her shoulder. She wraps her arms around Barbara’s midsection and looks up to make eye contact through the mirror.

“Delia. I’m dead….oh my god, I’m dead.” 

“Well, duh! Of course you are darling!”

The minute the words cross her lips, Barbara swiftly turns in her girlfriend’s embrace as bright eyes widen and begin to fill with tears. Delia’s own eyes grow large in panic as she watches Barbara bite her lip to suppress an involuntary quiver. Delia shrugs her shoulders and winces.

“Oh shit...no! I-I didn’t mean that okay! Barbara, honey… shh shh it’s okay. You’re….not dead?? I guess. Yeah, let’s go with that!” 

At this, a small smile breaks out on Barbara’s face as she takes in the sight of the woman in front of her and wipes away the single tear that had managed to escape. She begrudgingly steps out of Delia’s arms to slowly pace around the cramped room before finally speaking again.

“No… you’re right. I am dead. Really dead. So dead that I should be decomposing right now because really I’m just this little meat sack with legs and I just don’t understa—Delia, why are you with me? There’s nothing in my veins; not oxygen or blood o-or life! We can’t even cuddle without you shivering and we definitely can’t leave the property to go on dates!”

“Well, it’s a good thing I like our house honey!” 

Failing in her attempt to deter Barbara’s tangent, the ghost continues.

“If I'm not paying attention, your hands will go right through me! And I know it feels weird and you were just lying that one time to make me feel better! Delia Deetz, you’re dating a walking ice cube! Don’t you want someone more… your temperature?”

“Nope! I like it  _ cool _ .” 

Delia makes a point to exaggerate the last word as she shuffles over to a pacing Barbara and takes her hands in her own to still her. She knew her girlfriend was struggling with her current uhhh… life status. 

Being dead was hard enough. But being dead in the world of the living and constantly surrounded by beating hearts and flowing blood? It had to be more difficult than she could ever imagine. It didn’t help that she herself could never fully understand the pain of it all. Delia hoped, however, that this one simple thing could make it even a little easier.

“Come on, Barbie. I want to show you something.” 

Barbara looks hesitant, but lets herself be guided as she staggers along behind the redhead. 

“Delia, honey. You already showed me your new healing crystals and I didn’t even feel any different after, remember...wait— why are we going outside?”

Delia tried to hide the smile on her face as she led Barbara to the tool shed, standing in front of the wooden doors and making sure to block the entryway.

“Oh, this isn’t about the crystals, Babs! Even though I still think that the healing ceremony would have worked if you just opened your chakras up just a teeny bit more—”

“Uuuh...Ahem. Deals?”

“Right, right, right. The shed. Anyway, you know how the garage got renovated so we don’t need to keep the tools in here anymore?”

“Yes…”

“Well, that got me thinking, if we don’t need tools in here then what should we put in the shed? We wouldn’t want this space to go to waste, now would we?”

“No…”

“That’s absolutely right, Barbie. No we wouldn’t. So I thought about it… a lot. So much so that it started to creep in on my meditation time. That’s when I  _ knew  _ something had to be done about it.”

“Delia… wow! I-I didn’t know you were so interested in space renovations..” At this point, Delia was practically buzzing with excitement; her feet bouncing on the dirt while her hands fiddled with the door handle behind her.

“Well, space renovations… no. But you… yes.” 

At this, Delia turns to unlock the doors to the shed, swinging them open wide to reveal a tool shed turned plant nursery. With a newfound vision tinted leafy greens and earthy browns, plants, flowers, and roots lined the walls. Vines warped around ceramic pots and succulents grew up towards the exposed sky. Colored flowers of pink and purple speckled the sea of neutrals and stood out against their green counterparts. 

Barbara opened her mouth once and then twice, but nothing seemed to be able to come out. She aimlessly walked around the shed, extending an arm out to feel the tickle of the leaves on her skin as she brushed passed, the sensation making her giggle and grin from ear to ear. She absentmindedly picked up a potted succulent and began to stroke its leaves like one would pet a dog or cat. She turned back to her girlfriend, who was watching proudly from a distance.

“....Delia?” 

At the crack in Barbara’s voice and the familiar glint in her eyes, Delia walked over to her and lightly pulled on her arm until they were both sat on the ground; Barbara grasping the small pot tightly in anticipation while Delia fiddled with some flowers nearby.

“Look, Babs. I know that you don’t think you’re alive. And well… maybe your body isn’t. But that’s not important to me! Because your mind still is! And your soul! And your spirit! You’re proof that those are the things that matter in the end. I could never look at you and think about death! And I promise I never will. I….well, I know words don’t change anything! So I was hoping that this little garden would remind you that life comes in all forms. And you don’t have to have a beating heart to shine your light on others okay?... And also the plants would die outside in the winter so….”

Tears splattered onto the succulent in Barbara’s hands as she bowed her head and attempted to wipe the water away. Soon giving up on the endeavour, she flung herself at Delia, plant forgotten as she curled onto the other woman’s lap. Barbara presses a kiss onto Delia’s pulse point; savouring the consistent thrum it produced. 

  
  


****

“Sit still, Barbara!”

“Honey, I’m trying...but it t-tickles!!” 

Two hours later and the couple had yet to leave the greenhouse. After a long talk and an even longer cuddle, Delia insisted that the purples and pinks of the smaller flowers would look beautiful in Barbara’s golden hair and she just had to try it out. 

So here the two women were. Barbara, leaning into the comforting touch of the woman behind her, all while being pulled into a sleepy haze by the feeling of adept fingers running through her locks. Delia, braiding flowers into her hair and letting out a series of contented sighs at the familiar weight in front of her.

“Delia?”

“Hmm?”

“I love you.”

“I love you too, Barbie. So much.”

“Thanks for being my pulse point. I wouldn’t feel alive without you..”


End file.
